14 DAY TRIAL // The Tumblr and 4chan websites suffered various downtimes after its members decided to attack each other with distributed denial of service and images of cute kittens.
The 4chan image board is the birthplace of many Internet memes and is responsible for advancing many others, such as the LOLcat phenomenon - the posting of cat pictures with funny captions.
The website is best known for its /b/ random board, where most users post as "Anonymous" and where almost any subject can be approached.
4chan is viewed by many outsiders as a hangout for Internet trolls with a questionable sense of humor and a large number of images posted on /b/ can be considered distasteful.
Meanwhile, Tumblr is a microblogging site with a similar focus on image posting, but whose users favor pictures of cute things and inspirational quotes.
Users of the two sites hardly see eye to eye and 4chan members in particular have repeatedly harassed Tumblrers.
4chan's recent anti-Tumblr campaign, dubbed Operation Overlord, was scheduled to conclude yesterday with a coordinated DDoS attack using the Low Orbit Ion Cannon (LOIC) program.
However, Tumblr members unexpectedely went on the counter-offensive and called for an invasion of 4chan. Their weapon of choice? Images of cute kittens. Lots of them.
Tumblr's "Operation Overkitten" call to arms read: "We all head over to /b/ and post the cutest damn kittens we can find. We counteract the very nature of their message board with adorableness."
And funnily enough, the idea actually worked to some extent. As Tumblr users rushed to 4chan and started posting, the image board experienced a temporary downtime.
Of course, DDoS has historically proven more efficient than kitty flood, so 4chan's retaliation caused significant disruptions on Tumblr.
4chan members are experienced DDoSers, since the site is the origin of the notorious Anonymous group of hacktivists, which has organized many such attacks over the years.
